Традиционные регионы Соединенных Штатов

The differences among Americas traditional regions, or culture areas, tend to be slight and shallow as compared with such areas in most older, more stable countries. The nature of interregional differences can be ascribed to the relative newness of American settlement, a perpetually high degree of mobility, a superb communications system, and the galloping centralisation of economy and government. Yet, in spite of the nationwide standardisation in many areas of American thought and behaviour, the lingering effects of the older culture areas do remain potent. In the case of the South, for example, the differences helped to precipitate the gravest political crisis and bloodiest military conflict in the nations history. More than a century after the Civil War, the South remains a powerful entity in political, economic and social terms, and its peculiar status is recognised in religious, educational, athletic and literary circles. Even more intriguing is the appearance of a series of essentially 20th century regions. Southern California is the largest region, and its special culture has attracted large numbers of immigrants to the state. Similar trends are visible in southern Florida; in Texas, and to a certain degree in regions of New Mexico and Arizona as well. At the metropolitan level, it is difficult to believe that such distinctive cities as San Francisco, Las Vegas, Dallas, Tucson and Seattle have become like all other American cities. A detailed examination, however, would show... significant if sometimes subtle interregional differences in terms of language, religion, diet, folklore, folk architecture and handicrafts, political behaviour, social etiquette and a number of other cultural categories.